


Keep On Cracking On

by helsinkibaby



Category: Law & Order: UK
Genre: Coda, F/M, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-15
Updated: 2012-12-15
Packaged: 2017-11-21 05:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/594025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Episode Coda to 1x08. Matt attempts to clear up a slight miscommunication with Alesha.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep On Cracking On

When Matt reaches Alesha's office, he doesn't go in straight away, just stands in the doorway and watches her. Not in a crazed stalker kind of way, far from it. He's just looking at her to see if he can glean any clues about her mood, about how her day might have been. Once upon a time, she would always look up and greet him with a smile, was always bright and cheerful. But that was before Merrick. 

As he stands there, lost in thought, she moves slightly, turns her head in his direction, not entirely but it must be enough for her to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye because she jumps, gasps and wheels sharply so that her whole body is facing him. One hand goes up to her chest, her eyes are huge, and her jaw drops as she stares at him. "Matt, you scared me!" It's more of an observation than an accusation but he still feels instantly guilty. 

"Sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"What are you doing here anyway?" She's turning away from him now, rifling through her papers, all business. She's embarrassed, he realises; embarrassed at her reaction. She probably thinks she shouldn't have been scared by him, is thinking of Merrick and how he's making her second guess everything she knows about herself when the truth is that anyone would have jumped in that situation. 

Matt feels guilty, like he keeps trying to come here to talk, make her feel better but keeps on messing it up. He gives her a smile that he hopes is reassuring. "I was just two floors up with McDonagh, thought I'd see if you were still here." Because at seven o'clock on a Friday night, she should be well gone for the evening, but she's been burning the midnight oil lately. 

"Almost finished," she says, giving him a smile that's more than a little forced. 

Pushing his hands into his coat pockets, Matt rocks forward then back on the balls of his feet. "So, you want to go for a drink or something?" 

Alesha stops what she's doing, looks down at the desk for a very long moment before looking back up at him. When she does, the look on her face is barely veiled annoyance. "Matt, I've told you, you don't have to check up on me."

"I'm not..."

"Because I'm fine. I'm not hiding here because I'm scared to go home, or because I don't want to be alone with my thoughts, I genuinely have work to do and Friday night happens to be the best time to do it because usually people don't come here and bother me."

Ouch. Matt can't hold back his wince and when Alesha sees that, she takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. 

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "You don't deserve that. You're just being a mate."

Funnily enough, that stings just as much as the "bother me" bit, but Matt's a bit more successful at keeping his face neutral. Alesha rubs a hand over her face, gives him a smile. "A drink might be nice actually." A brighter smile then, broader, more like the old Alesha. "And don't worry, I know you're not cracking on to me..."

"I am."

The words are out before he can stop them and the smile slides right off Alesha's face. "What?"

What the hell, Matt thinks. In for a penny and all that. "I am. Cracking on to you, I mean. Or at least I'm trying to; I seem to be doing a pretty piss-poor job of it..."

"Why?"

Matt chuckles, he can't help it. "You women," he mutters. "I say I'm not cracking on to you; you ask why. I say I am, you ask why. I can't win."

"Matt." Alesha is staring at him, eyes wide again and the only word that comes to mind when he looks at her is stricken. "Why?"

"Because." Matt's lost for words for a moment, then it all comes out. "Because you're gorgeous. And clever and funny and kind and caring and I think I've fancied you from the moment we first met. And it's nothing to do with the last few weeks, except for that what happened to you made me realise that I don't want anything bad to ever happen to you..."

"Matt..."

"It's not because I think you're broken," he adds quietly. "It's not. I don't think you're broken, Alesha. I think you're brilliant." 

There is a very long silence, where Alesha's lip are pressed together, where her hands are resting on the table in front of her but he can see that she is trembling. When she finally looks up, her face is blank and Matt braces himself for the brush off that he's sure is coming, trying to collect whatever's left of his dignity before making a swift exit to the nearest pub so that he can down his sorrows. 

Then Alesha speaks, voice hoarse. "There's a nice Italian, five minutes from here," she tells him. "You can buy me dinner. I've hardly eaten all day and I'm starving."

Something funny happens to Matt's face; it takes him a second to realise that he's smiling. Actually, grinning from ear to ear might be more appropriate and he's sure he looks like an idiot but when Alesha gives him a matching smile, he realises he actually doesn't care that much. 

"Dinner it is then," he says, helping her into her coat before holding out an arm to her. She loops her arm through his and they head out of the office together, still smiling. 


End file.
